Stray Princess
by wizardofahz
Summary: "Granny found Ruby sitting in a booth with Aurora and shook her head. First Snow, then Belle, and now Aurora. Her granddaughter sure had a penchant for taking in stray princesses."


Disclaimer: I don't own _OUAT_ and never will blah blah blah you know the drill.

A/N: Ruby and Aurora are my favorite characters, so naturally I had to write a fic involving them meeting each other. This takes place sometime after Emma and Snow's return to Storybrooke and before Belle lost her memories. Aurora and Mulan came through at some point after unsuccessfully searching for Phillip's soul, and that's where we're at.

Enjoy! :)

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"Hi," Ruby smiled down at Aurora as she approached the booth. "What can I get you?"

Snow had introduced the two to one another briefly when Mulan and Aurora first appeared in Storybrooke a couple days prior. They hadn't spoken since then but had heard enough to know that Ruby was Snow's best friend and Aurora had helped communication between worlds.

Aurora stared at the menu then looked up to Ruby, expression completely befuddled. She'd never heard of cheeseburgers or pancakes and didn't have the slightest clue what their Enchanted Forest counterparts could be. "I... I have no idea."

Finding her response utterly endearing, Ruby's grin widened. "Well, I have it on good authority princesses like iced tea. I'll get you started on that, and then we can talk over the menu."

And with that, she disappeared before Aurora could even say "Thank you" or "I'm not even that hungry".

Aurora looked around the empty diner. She presumed everybody was either at work or at school. She herself had finally managed solitude by persuading Mulan that it was okay for her to catch up with Belle and leave the formerly sleeping beauty to her own devices.

"Here you are." Ruby set the glass down in front of Aurora and sat opposite her.

"Thank you." Aurora took a tentative sip before humming with approval. "It's delicious. I've never had it iced before."

Ruby smiled at the familiar words. "So how about some food?"

"I'm afraid I don't have much of an appetite," Aurora admitted.

"That's all right," Ruby continued on enthusiastically. "We can start small. I'm thinking fries or onion rings. Do you prefer potatoes or onions?"

"Potatoes, I suppose," Aurora chose warily, not knowing exactly what her choice would result in.

"Excellent choice, milady," Ruby stood and bowed grandly eliciting a laugh from the younger woman. "I'll be right back."

And right back she was with an astonishing speed that had Aurora utterly perplexed. "How did you do that?"

Smiling enigmatically, Ruby merely said, "Granny's started on the fries. They should be out soon."

Before Aurora could inquire further, Ruby deflected (though she felt slightly bad for doing so), "I'm sorry about Phillip. Belle told me a lot about him."

Aurora sighed and looked down at her hands. She wished people would stop acting like she had just lost Phillip when in fact she'd lost him a month ago. Maybe if people stopped acting like the pain was so fresh and new, it would hurt less. "Thank you, but I don't want to talk about it."

"I figured," Ruby nodded with understanding. "I just wanted to say I know a little something about lost love, so if you ever want to talk..."

Aurora didn't need to see the other woman's face to know that "a little something" was a vast understatement. Ruby's voice alone conveyed that. Aurora continued staring at her hands for a while before looking up and asking, "Did you talk to someone?"

Ruby nodded. "Snow. She was kind of my lifeline."

"Your lifeline?" Aurora asked, though she had a vague idea of what that entailed.

"She saved me... in more ways than one," Ruby elaborated, thinking back to their time in the woods. Snow had saved her from not only the villagers but also from herself, not to mention all the battles they'd been through together.

"Sounds nice," Aurora murmured before the implications of what she'd said caught up with her. "I mean... nice that you had her, not nice that you needed... that you went through..."

Ruby reassured her with a gentle smile. "I know what you meant."

"Does it help?" Aurora asked before clarifying, "To talk... Does it... give you peace?"

"Nothing ever really gives you peace, not even time," Ruby admitted. Every time she'd thought she'd gotten over eating Peter, anything as simple as a full moon or seeing a couple in love was enough to bring back immense feelings of guilt. "But talking does help. Or at least for me it does. It's good that you have Mulan."

"I feel like she's smothering me," Aurora admitted guiltily. She was grateful for Mulan, truly, but when the other woman refused to leave her side for more than five minutes at a time... Well, like she said, it was quite smothering.

Ruby laughed. "Snow used to do that. Don't worry. Mulan's just worried. She'll learn to give you space."

Aurora smiled. "I certainly hope so."

"If she doesn't, just let me know, and I'll have Belle distract her," Ruby offered with a wink.

Coming out of the kitchen with the fries, Granny found Ruby sitting in a booth with Aurora and shook her head. First Snow, then Belle, and now Aurora. Her granddaughter sure had a penchant for taking in stray princesses.

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fin

_Thanks for reading!_


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